All my hens are missing/dead.

[jtbuck]

Seems when my hens start laying, they start missing. I can't find any nest, and now I have no hens, lots of males. If I get more hens how is the best way to keep them alive ??

 

[KayisforKale]

Seems when my hens start laying, they start missing. I can't find any nest, and now I have no hens, lots of males. If I get more hens how is the best way to keep them alive ??

Can you offer more of a back-story to this? Explaining everything can help others help you.

 

[jtbuck]

Can you offer more of a back-story to this? Explaining everything can help others help you.

These are free range. I'm guessing the coons/foxes/bobcats are getting them off nest??? Don't know. I wish they would stay with my Chickens but they don't seem to get along(the males). Live on 5 acres middle of no where....

 

[Debbie292d]

Seems when my hens start laying, they start missing. I can't find any nest, and now I have no hens, lots of males. If I get more hens how is the best way to keep them alive ??

Do you have a coop for them?

If not, I'd make them something some semblance of secure, with nesting boxes.

If you do have one, once you realize the hens are running off to lay their eggs somewhere else, I'd not let them out for about a week so they get used to laying in the nest boxes.

 

[Debbie292d]

Turkeys are not normally fans of nesting boxes. They prefer hidden sites. Collecting all their eggs from their nests encourages them to find a better hiding spot for their nest.

They need to have their nests protected from the toms too.

I thought these were guineas, per the title. If turkeys, well, yeah, my neighbors' go into her barn at night and lay there but I don't have any.

 

[R2elk]

Oops, yeah, most guineas are also not fans of nest boxes. Their hidden nests can be very difficult to locate and they are very vulnerable to predators unless in a protected coop at night.

Sometimes it is possible to follow the males to the hidden nests.

 

[jtbuck]

Yes these are guinea fowl. I had my first flock of them in a pen but once they got out didn't come back. That is the problem as I don't want to keep them locked up. I think will just not worry about getting new birds just let the males roam around, still pretty neat birds...

 

[SamLockwood]

If you can't get them to return to a secure coop or similar structure at night, they're going to get picked off quickly.

To coop train them you need to keep them in a coop & run for at least six weeks to get them used to the routine of going in. When I introduce new chicks or keets, I have an outdoor brooder with a built-in mini-run I move them into at 2 weeks old (it has a heat plate in it). It also helps with flock integration.

I've gotten mine to use nesting boxes more or less by accident when I had the whole flock on lockdown for a week due to a prowling bobcat last year. The trick is to either have some fake eggs handy or leave 3-4 real ones in the box and they'll usually come back. Also, don't let them catch you. If you think chickens react badly to you sticking your hand in the "cookie jar" you won't believe what raging little dragons guinea hens turn into when defending a nest. I never knew birds would hiss and strike like snakes (and that's when they're being nice).

If you don't want to try the nesting box route (and even in my case they're not 100% reliable), make some nesting areas you can find easily. Guineas prefer dry natural depressions with overhead cover. I even caught one using an old tire that was under a small tree. That way you don't have to go "Easter egg hunting" as often. As with the nesting box routine, you'll need some fake eggs or leave some eggs behind when you're harvesting.